Pat Rollins: Ice fishing warm water ponds a blast

Wednesday

Jan 9, 2013 at 3:15 AM

The recent cold snap was welcome news to my buddies and me who have been eagerly awaiting an opportunity to grab the ice chisel and tip-ups and head out to one of our favorite early season ice fishing hot spots. Some of our favorite spots aren’t safe enough yet, however, Mike checked a cove on my most productive warm water pond the other day and found plenty of good hard ice. He hit the bait shop for a couple dozen shiners and I sharpened my ice chisel before we met at the shore for a mid day fishing trip.

“There’s about seven inches of good ice all the way out past the point,’ he revealed after his scouting trip. “I carefully cut numerous test holes and feel comfortable that it’s good and safe.”

“Well, when do you want to go?” I asked.

“Meet me there in an hour,” he answered. “I’ll stop at the bait shop and get some shiners and a dozen of night crawlers.”

I dug out my chisel and gave it a quick sharpening, then put fresh leaders and hooks on four of my best tip-ups, sharpened the hooks on a handful of my best perch jigs and headed out to meet my friend at the cove.

When I arrived, Mike was already there, leaning on the hood of his pickup, staring out at the ice.

“I was thinking we ought to try about fifty yards of those rocks right there,” he suggested. “As I recall, the water is the deepest there and I’m guessing it will be our best chance to hook into a couple white perch or big pickerel.”

“It’s the only spot out there where I’ve caught any white perch,” I admitted. “Let’s go see what we can do!”

We loaded our gear on a sled and after I put on my ice creepers we headed out, taking the same route Mike did when he checked the ice thickness. All along the way, my buddy pointed to the holes that he’d cut to test the thickness.

We reached our destination within minutes and as Mike laid out some tip-ups where he thought we should set them, I followed behind with the chisel, chopping out the holes.

“There’s plenty of good black ice here,” I said after cutting the first hole.

“What did I tell you,” Mike shouted as he pulled the bait bucket off the sled.

After I finished shopping eight holes, I joined Mike to help set the tip-ups. We’d sound for bottom at each hole, then after crimping a marker on the line, three feet from, the bottom, we’d hook a shiner through the mouth and send it down the hole. Most of the tip-ups were set in about twelve feet of water.

We only had three tip-ups in the holes when I heard one of the flags pop up.

“Mike, behind you!” I shouted.

My buddy jumped to his feet, whirled around and took off running. When he reached the hole, he gave me a thumbs up and carefully removed the trap and set it on the ice. I watched as he gave the line a jerk and set the hook.

“It’s got some shoulders,” he yelled. “It must be a pickerel.”

After a short battle, my buddy slid an nineteen inch long chubby pickerel on the ice.

“I couple of these will make a tasty chowder,” he said with a grin as he dropped the fish into his bucket.

We managed to get the rest of our tip-ups set before the next flag popped. It was one of my traps and by the time I reached the hole, the fish was gone, along with my bait.

We waited a good half hour for our next bite, then just as I pulled a nice yellow perch from that hole, two more flags sprung into the air nearly at the same time.

“You take the one on the right,” Mike shouted as he dashed off to tend the other.

I watched as he made quick work of catching another good yellow perch. Then I set the hook on what would turn out to be a third. By the time we decided to call it a day, Mike and I had landed nine yellow perch, two pickerel and one fourteen inch long white perch.

As we were picking up our tip-ups, Mike turned in my direction and shouted, “I really like ice fishing these warm water ponds; you never know what you’re gonna catch.”